


For Our Valentine

by Guggi



Category: The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: 1950s, Attempt at Humor, Dancing, Declarations Of Love, Domestic Fluff, Drinking, Fluff, Gay Bar, Multi, Polyamory, Romantic Fluff, Slow Dancing, Soft Booker | Sebastien le Livre, Soft Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Soft Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:01:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29424963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guggi/pseuds/Guggi
Summary: It's 1951 and Joe and Nicky decide their sweetheart needs a night about town after a devastating decade. And isn't Valentine's Day the perfect opportunity for that?Including Joe trying out 1950s slang! (It suits him)
Relationships: Booker | Sebastien le Livre/Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolo di Genova
Comments: 7
Kudos: 24





	For Our Valentine

**Author's Note:**

> House husband Booker is best Booker
> 
> Enjoy! :D

Booker sensed Joseph creeping up behind him long before he felt two arms sneaking around his waist, a kiss pressed tenderly on his neck just below the ear. “Sometimes, I swear, you’re up and about earlier than Nicky”, a voice whispered, gruff with sleep. 

Booker turned around, buttered knife still in hand. “And sometimes  _ I _ swear you get up later and later.” He leaned back against the firm hug, letting Joseph sway them from side to side. “Only twenty minutes until your bus arrives, remember? With the new routes, you two are sharing your first ride, am I correct?” 

Joseph exhaled heavily onto his shoulder, letting Booker continue. “That’s ten minutes earlier than before.” 

“Seven”, Joseph protested, eyes partly shut. 

“Nevermind, that means from now on you have to be up ten minutes sooner.”

“Seve--”

“Are we already tearing into poor Joe this early today?”, Nicky grinned when he rounded the corner of their kitchen. Bathed, shaved, clothed, everything. 

“Mmm, yeah. Poor Joe”, Joseph mumbled, half asleep again on Booker’s moving shoulder. 

Booker made quick work of their lunches with a smile on his lips, cutting up the leftover meats and greens from yesterday’s dinner and wrapping it all up in two neat packages. Before the war they’d had a nice little garden where Nicky had shown him how to grow all sorts of things. Tomatoes, carrots, potatoes. Unfortunately, like so many others, they’d had to leave their house and close to all belongings behind. Now they lived in a bigger city, their house smaller and just one of many on the road. And no garden. 

He knew as soon as Joseph and Nicholas had scraped enough money together for them, they’d be off in search of a cottage somewhere. Preferably close to the woods. They were well aware of Booker’s fondness for raw nature, just strolling along, thoughts going nowhere particular just like his feet. 

Though at this moment in time, it was just a dream. A wish. A realistic one with their two incomes, but still a dream nonetheless, not to be executed until the future. 

Nicky had ushered Joseph off his shoulder some time ago so he wouldn’t be late. Farewell kisses were exchanged before the door opened up to the busy street on the other side. “It’s cold out, don’t forget your coats”, Booker reminded them as he handed over the lunches one second and watched them rush to the bus stop the next, one hand brushing over the other a tad too long in their haste. 

A couple of errands needed doing before his boyfriends returned home in the late afternoon, tired and hungry after a warm dinner. He had to go to the library to pick up the two books he’d been eyeing every time they passed a bookstore. Joseph had said he’ll buy them for him, but Booker had insisted on loaning. No reason to spend money where one necessarily didn’t have to. 

Grocery shopping was next. Not much, just a couple of canned foods and dairy. Then coffee with the nosy neighbourhood lady next door. Laundry would have to wait until he could get today’s clothes in the mix. 

As he exited the bus later and stepped out into the city centre, he was greeted with pink and red bows hanging outside every store and paper hearts in every window, proclaiming it to be the best Valentine’s Day in known history. Booker barely noticed as he was handed a single red rose from a lady outside a corner shop. 

“For the missus at home, sir! How about some lovely new clothes, this season’s sale is just starting.” She made a compelling point, eyes bright and smile wide, in high spirits even if today’s harsh weather was like moving around in an Earth-shaped freezer. 

“Thanks, maybe next time”, he nodded in return and walked off at a brisk pace, only one thing on his mind. The rose was stuffed into his pocket, soon forgotten about. 

He was in luck, library wise. Both books were available for him and he ended his afternoon in a good mood, setting about the task of dinner making in vigour. Nicholas and Joseph had gifted him a nice Wedgewood stove for his birthday last year. It was quite a sight, with them coming home on the bus, trying to move the sturdy and heavy thing between them. In the end, several other passengers had to step off to help them carry it home and the bus driver was nice enough to wait for them as they hurried back to reclaim their seats. 

Booker had reminded his boyfriends how they didn’t celebrate birthdays that often anymore. Had either of them ever in the past decades? He couldn’t remember once. But they were adamant, insisting that this was  _ the _ gift for their best guy, and Booker was left unable to resist. How could he really? 

Admitted, it had made his afternoons a lot more free. Cooking was faster and less messy. So every time he retired to the sofa with a novel and a dish simmering alone on the stove, he sent his two favorite people in the world a loving thought. 

The two men in question arrived home separately today. Nicholas came in first, greeting Booker with a kiss and complementing the enticing aroma in the air. He asked about his day, laughed at Booker’s rendition of the stories Annie from next door had told him and talked about how he would relieve him of his kitchen duties come Saturday, where Nicholas intended to try a disputed eggplant technique from an old and worn recipe book he found at the back of the cabinet. 

Their conversation was interrupted by the front door opening and closing, shuffling noises as coat and boots were discarded and footsteps on wooden floor, headed toward them. A hand sneaking around a chuckling Nicholas twirled him once and a soft kiss placed on Booker’s knuckles in the joy of reunion. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Joseph exclaimed loudly, handing them both a colorful card, plastered with teddy bears and hearts. Nicholas read his quickly, fingers resting lightly on Joseph’s shoulder. 

Opening his own, Booker read the card carefully. Joseph’s distinct handwriting cluttered the pages with all kinds of endearments. Words like ‘love’, ‘sweet’, ‘darling’ and ‘booty fit enough for some sweet back seat bingo’ stared back at him. Mouth agape, he thanked him for the thoughtful gift. 

“Tonight we shall go a-dancing!” Joseph tried a few jive steps, unsuccessfully. None of them were particularly gifted in that art form. 

“Tonight?” Booker asked, surprised, but not really. “On a regular Wednesday?” 

“Ah-ah! Not just any regular Wednesday.  _ The _ Valentine’s Wednesday, where I get to show my loves how they mean the absolute world to me!” 

“And?” Nicholas raised an eyebrow at their incandescent lover. 

Joseph kicked the floor a couple of times with the tip of his toe. “And I get to show you off in front of all those other flutter bums”, he hesitantly admitted. Booker actually snorted at that. 

When the familiar sound of the kitchen timer filled up their living space with its everlasting racket, Booker rose from his seat to manage first the noise, next the upcoming dinner that was received with praise from the men, once they had finished it all up. 

All three had a suit for going out in and, needless to say, it has been a while since they had a chance to air them out like they deserved. Nicholas gave a low wolf whistle when Booker exited their bedroom in form-fitting clothes, last one changed and ready to paint the town red on this cold and windy Wednesday evening. 

Alive and excited with expectation, the little family of three walked the streets gaily like they owned every brick. About a mile or so from their house, a medium-sized bar was situated in a little-known alley, down a number of stairs. Music blasted through the doors when they opened after the mandatory password exchange. 

Inside was warm, cosy even. A thick layer of smoke covered the bar area, whereas the square dancefloor was tobacco-free. Ever gallant, Joseph relieved his boyfriends of their jackets, meticulously handing them over to the cloakroom attendant, tipping him a small fee. 

“Sure is packed tonight”, Nicholas stated. The nightclub had done its part in playing along with the lovers’ theme. Roses and bow and arrow-carrying Cupids hung from the ceiling and every drink was served with a red plastic straw, shaped like a heart in the middle. On the stage, a female performer sang an upbeat tune, no doubt saving the slow ones for last. 

And Nicholas was right. The place was packed full of patrons dancing, singing along or simply sitting and enjoying a drink and a how’ve-you-been. 

“I’ll need a drink before venturing out on that floor”, Booker mumbled, mostly to himself. He shook hands and handed out one-armed hugs to some men on his way to the bar and a  _ la bise _ with the ladies. The usual cacophony of voices started behind him after he’d ordered, proclaiming it ‘too long’ since they'd last seen the trio. Turning around with drinks in hand, Booker caught an apologetic Joseph and Nicholas, surrounded by a small crowd, promising to take their ‘charming guy’ out more often. 

As the alcohol from the second drink moved around in his blood, Booker finally accepted the invitation that was Joseph’s outstretched hand, asking for a dance, quite possibly two. Neither were very good nor especially synchronised, but they found their own rhythm, swaying along to the heartfelt tunes. 

They were lucky to pick this time to go dancing as their lack of skills showed less clearly during the faster songs. With a hand on Booker’s hip, he tried his best not to step on his partner’s toes. 

Joseph attempted the dip and spin on Booker multiple times, but due to sheer incoordination, or possibly laughing because of one two many beverages, they ended up almost toppling over onto the floor. Booker held up his hands as a sign of time-out and they headed for their table, in high spirits but defeated by the dance nonetheless. 

“Up you get, Nick. Let’s rattle!” Joseph wasn’t finished and moved up behind him in a subtle, yet suggestive, manner, leaving Booker to have a well-earned rest and the duty of watching over their drinks. And, the added bonus of eyeing up his two dreamboats swinging their unrehearsed hips around. 

Most of the people present at this establishment knew each other. If you came here, you didn’t frequent any other place, was the general rule of the society at the time. That also meant you knew who was with whom, hence the guys and gals who came to sit next to a lone Booker were there for a welcome catching-up chat and not to try and score with him. 

As the evening progressed, the party reached its climax. Soon, everyone was on the floor, trying in earnest to make a little room around them to swing their partners about. Booker found himself on the left side of the room, furthest away from the stage. That location was also known as the less serious spot. Nicholas and Joseph took turns twirling him, until he was too unwell from motion sickness. It all came to one big dance, everyone moving around everyone else. Hips bumping and arms intertwining. 

The room erupted in a loud cheer when the song ended as to congratulate themselves on the well-executed mass romp. The woman on stage bowed and announced they would end the night with a soulful slow dance. Joseph had been whisked away, trapped somewhere in the crowd, his joyous laugh easily distinguishable once the music quieted down. 

Nicholas extended his hand toward Booker, who accepted. The last dance of the night. The second it started, he pressed himself to Nicholas, cheek against cheek. They swayed slowly, sometimes matching the rhythm with the low tunes, but more often making up their own. 

Closing his eyes, Booker sensed the heat from the other man’s body close to his. It was strange, one minute his adrenaline pumping through his veins, feeling energetic and full of life, only for the next to be held tightly around his waist, heartbeat slowing down and matching up to that of Nicholas’. 

When the song ended, Booker was convinced he could fall asleep right there in one of his lovers’ embrace. Reluctantly, he removed his own arms from being wrapped around Nicholas’ shoulders and ended their little moment with a kiss. 

Joseph had spotted them and came up behind Booker, planting a kiss on the back of his head, wearing a sleepy, yet jovial expression on his face. “I think us three old men had our fill of fun for tonight, don’t you?” 

Booker, laughing, nodded in agreement. “Can’t forget it’s a work day tomorrow. We should head home. But thanks for tonight,” he said, kissing them both shyly on the cheek. “Seriously.” 

The streets were dark and the cold air sobering as Joseph took his hand while they were walking back to their house, drunk on love and high on life. “You deserve some semblance of a real life after the last decade, Bastien. We all do.” Booker’s question of ‘what brought all this on?’ was answered before he could even ask. 

“We can’t give you much, but we can give you that”, Nicholas joined in, taking his place on Booker’s other side. 

_ And we’re well on our way _ , Booker thought. He looked forward to properly thanking them when they arrived back in the comfort of their current home. As he searched eagerly for the key to the front door, his hand grazed past a small lump in the coat of his long wool coat.  _ Oh _ . He pulled up the rose, beaten and faded by now. 

“What’s this?”, Nicholas asked, eyes sharp even in the hazy visibility from a nearby street light. 

“Erm, just a rose I got. Sorry I only have one.” Booker held out the wilted flower for whoever took it from him first. “You'll have to share”, he admitted, a bit embarrassed that that was all he could muster up on a Valentine’s Day this special. 

“That’s alright”, Joe assured him. “Nick and I already share the most dazzling thing on this Earth.” Booker flushed as two pairs of lips kissed each of his warm cheeks.

**Author's Note:**

> Help that was the most sugary sweet romance I've ever written in my life. 
> 
> But my Mom thought it was 'lovely', so here ya go ;-)


End file.
